Carolina Hurricanes: 2019 Prospect Showcase
With the 2019 NHL Prospects Showcase in Nashville just a week away what does the Carolina Hurricanes roster look like heading into their first appearance in the tournament?
After years of playing in an eight team rookie tournament in Traverse City Michigan, the Carolina Hurricanes have joined the Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning in a smaller, four team tournament that will rotate host cities each year. Running September 7th through the 10th in Nashville, the Hurricanes’ roster consists of a mixture of draft picks, invites and free agent signings.
Of the 22 players named to the roster, eight have been drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the drafts ranging from 2016-2019; two are free agent signings, and the remaining twelve are invites. Drafted back in 2016, Jeremy Helvig and Janne Kuokkanen are two of the more experienced players heading to Nashville.
With some NHL experience, we should see a motivated Kuokkanen, as he looks to reestablish himself as a top prospect following an injury shortened season. With over 100 AHL games played, the 21 year old should be among the tournament top point getters. Meanwhile Helvig, after playing a full professional season, should provide the team with a calming presence in net during the condensed tournament.
Janne Kuokkanen! Two goals just 12 seconds apart to complete the hat trick! #HERvsCHA pic.twitter.com/h5oPHfhhsS
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) April 8, 2018
Both froward Eetu Luostarinen, from the 2017 draft, and defenseman Jesper Sellgren, from the 2018 draft, will look to impress the front office as they both hope to be fighting for an NHL roster spot once training camp opens up on the 12th. These two players could either potentially play in the AHL with the Checkers or opt to return to Europe, should they fail to make the Hurricanes opening night roster.
Only three of the Carolina Hurricanes’ twelve draft picks from 2019 will be attending the tournament. Among them are first rounder Ryan Suzuki, second rounder Jamieson Rees and sixth rounder Blake Murray. This will mark the first time that we’ll see the trio dawn the Hurricanes crest during real game action. 2018 fourth rounder, Luke Henman, rounds out the Hurricanes’ drafted players.
Newly signed defenseman Chase Priskie is the only other D-man under contract (Jesper Sellgren the other), with five invites rounding out the defensive unit. This prospect showcase will allow fans to get their first look at Priskie before he comes to Raleigh following the tournament’s conclusion. Forward Jacob Pritchard is the other free agent signing that will be representing the Canes in Nashville next weekend.
The Invites
Of the twelve invites, three are returning from development camp earlier this summer. Defenseman Noel Hoefenmayer, a former Coyotes draft pick, undrafted forward Kameron Kielly and undrafted goaltender Samuel Harvey seem to have done enough to warrant another look from the organization.
Should they perform well, it is possible that we’ll see Hoefenmayer and/or Kielly sign deals with the organization, similar to what we saw with Nick Schilkey a few years ago, earning an AHL deal with the Charlotte Checkers based on his performance durning the rookie camp and tournament. If they were to get contracts, they’ll both most likely play in Charlotte next season.
Harvey is an intriguing prospect. The two time QMJHL champion played last season with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, backstopping them en route to a CHL Memorial Cup Championship. The 21 year old net minder went 35-8-0 in 43 games played posting a goals against average of 2.08 with a save percentage of .926, numbers that resulted in him being named a QMJHL first team all star. Reportedly committed to the University of New Brunswick next season, it will be interesting to see how he performs in net next week.
https://twitter.com/QMJHL/status/1107375126708920320
Leif Mattson, Ethan Crossman, Martin Lang, Nolan Hutcheson, and Kyle Topping round out the team’s forward invites. With Kaleb Bulych, Thomas Pelletier, Merrick Rippon and David Maier the remaining invited D-man. This is an approach that we really haven’t seen in the past, with a majority of the team’s sent to Traverse City comprised of players the Carolina Hurricanes drafted themselves.
With Leif Mattson, Ryan Suzuki, Nolan Hutchenson, Blake Murray and Kyle Topping all 20+ goal scorers in Junior last season offense hopefully shouldn’t be too hard to come by. In any short tournament it is important for teams to come together quickly if they want to have any sort of success. It will be interesting to see if this team will create any kind of chemistry having hardly any familiarity with one another previously.
At the end of the day, these types of prospect showcases allow organizations to get a read on how their young players stack up with those of other franchises. In joining this new rotating host tournament, fans in Raleigh will get a chance to see firsthand some of the team’s promising young players when the Canes host the event.
As for the prospects themselves, this is an opportunity for players under contract to get up to game speed before all eyes are on them in NHL camp. For undrafted/invited players they get a chance to show that they have what it takes to make it to the next level, possibly earning a deal while providing them outlet to improve their draft stock for next season, should they be eligible.
light. Hot. Ward Retires a Cane
The Canes kick off their tournament schedule Saturday the 7th at 2 pm EST against Washington. They’ll then play the following day, Sunday the 8th, at 5pm EST against Tampa Bay. They will conclude their three game schedule Tuesday the 10th at 2pm EST versus the host Nashville.
Of the invites, who are you most looking forward to see play for the Canes in the 2019 Prospect Showcase?